II.

The two brothers had almost reached the car when the three men who had been watching the house came closer. At first, Sam thought of ignoring them but Dean had other plans. He turned around and smiled at the strangers. Sam noticed that they did not return the gesture.

"What were you doing in there?" the tallest of the men inquired without hesitation.

"Good morning, fellas. What a nice day!" Dean joked but the angry glare of the three men told him that it was no use, again. They came closer, almost threateningly close.

"What are you doing here?" It didn't sound like a question.

Dean held up his hands as if to keep them away. "Wohwoh, easy boys! We're reporters, Daily Mail? Tried to make a story here…but well…" He said with a sheepish smile.

"Reporters? Well, you stayed inside for quite some time." The men didn't seem convinced.

"Yeah, but they didn't want to tell us anything…" Sam said, carefully eyeing the strangers. They obviously weren't that happy to have them here.

"These people are better left alone you hear me? And we don't want strangers around. If you stay you might end up dead by that lake!" The tall man pointed towards the house. "You don't want to get involved in things you don't understand."

Sam cleared his throat. "Maybe you can help us shed a bit of light on this case? What's happened here?"

The tall man let out a low growl. "That bitch inside is possessed by the devil. She murdered her own parents, and also the old doctor and his family. They were renowned here in Richmond. Best doctor and such. People liked him a lot. First the doctor and then her own parents. She is the reincarnation of the devil. The four poor schmocks in the hospital won't make it long." He seemed reluctant to share what he knew. But Dean's puppy dog eyes always did their job.

"You shouldn't be here. Go back to your city and stay out of our business. We'll take care of that."

"Take care how?" Dean asked but Sam nudged him with his elbow. 'Let's go…' he implied with a motion of his head.

Dean hesitated for a second but then he nodded. "Thanks guys…" He moved towards the car. "And thanks for nothing…" he whispered but his brother heard him. He shot him an angry glance.

"Get out of this town, boys! Don't stick your nose into things that are none of your business!" the tall man yelled after them. His two companions had already walked over to the house. Sam and Dean opened the doors of the Impala and turned around one last time. The tall man was still watching them, the others were intently watching the house.

"Man, that was strange…" Sam breathed when he closed the door after getting in. He watched the three men in the rear mirror.

"Yeah, I wonder if they're going to throw a burning cross into the garden…" Dean said.

"What?"

"Just kidding! They probably know that it's not much use…Guess they've tried it before. Have you seen Lucy's arms?" He had a shocked expression on his face.

Sam didn't say anything to that. He had seen the injuries on her arms and he was sure that there were more. He had been quite surprised that she had shown them without hesitating, but when he now thought about it, he kind of understood how desperate she was. She didn't care what others thought or said about her. And she didn't care what others did to her. When he looked at his older brother, he noticed that Dean was not too convinced about whether those men did it or whether the wounds were self-inflicted.

"You know what's strange, too?" Sam asked his brother who turned and looked at him. "I was wondering, Lauren was 10 years old when the demon came…"

"So you really think it was the demon?"

"I am not sure about anything anymore! As far as I know and what Dad told us, the babies were 6 months old when the demon came to get them. I was 6 months old when mom died. What is going on here that it happened so late? I'm sure it was the demon, his way is unmistakable. But why at this time? And why here? There is no baby…"

"Maybe we should ask Lucy about that. Maybe she knows something." Dean said. "And we'll do some research. I'll go check the police records and you…"

"…yeah, I know, I'll go to the library…" Sam rolled his eyes. "Let's go and get this over with."

"Wow, wait, you just can't wait to get back to her, eh?"

Sam gave his brother a taunting look. "No, I just want to make sure that they're safe. Remember, you gave Lucy your word that you would protect Lauren…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Dean growled and returned his brother's glance. He jammed the key in the lock and turned the ignition. The V8 engine started immediately.